Dulcet Joy
by FlowerOwl
Summary: He had not realised until that very moment, as they stood out there, far from the castle, Zelda's eyes shining with joy, that the sound of her voice was magical.


There was something magical about the way Zelda could completely lose herself in her research during those rare, stolen hours she was able to escape from her duties and obligations to her kingdom, Link thought.

As she sat there, leaning back against the stem of the tree behind her, with her legs pulled up in front of her to allow her to rest the Sheikah Slate against her knees as she scribbled furiously, the pen in her hand almost flying to the side each time she had to begin a new line, Link could easily imagine what had caused the other recruits to whisper about how the princess, no matter whether or not she had showed any signs of the fabled powers that had been associated with the royal family for longer than anyone could remember, must somehow be related to the goddess herself. It was the only reason Link could see, that would be enough to explain how she was able to give him hope even when he had to help her up from yet another spring, hugging her for the longest time as she cried about the results that continued to refuse to show no matter how many times she tried to plead with the goddess.

But as it had been so often after he had been chosen for the position of the personal guard of the princess and had picked up the heavy blade of the Master Sword for the first time, their moment of peace came to an end far earlier than Link would have liked.

Brushing the dirt of her pants and shoving the slate back into her pouch, Zelda pushed herself off the ground, sending him a regretful smile.

"We should get going. I doubt my father will believe that we really had any reason to travel around the river, so it would be wise not to attempt to push our luck any more than we have done already."

Even as she did her best to sound decisive, adopting the façade of the princess her father wanted her to be, Link could hear the sadness shining through, reflected in the way she turned around to look back at the flowery meadow behind her. Link was not sure exactly what kind of flower they had spent the last hour inspecting, but he knew that he could ask Zelda later. She always seemed so cheerful when she was given a chance to pull out the Sheikah Slate and explain what the tiny words, the letters almost impossible to read due to the quick, tiny strokes of the pen, meant. But right then, Link was more than happy to shake his head, disagreeing with her. There was no need to go back just yet.

"Actually," he began, and not for the first time, he winced at the sound of his own voice. Even after all of those hours he had spent in her presence and her silent encouragement for him to share his opinions, Link still preferred to stay silent when he could. But he continued nevertheless, letting the giddy excitement fuel him, "I thought that since it is your birthday in just a couple of days, you might want to get your birthday present now. Or at least, I think you might find it more useful now rather than later."

He let out a breath, his heart beating faster than it did when he was finally able to relax after fighting a Lynel. So many words. At least they were alone. No one had been there to hear how his voice had almost broken halfway through the first sentence, and although he knew that the Hateno-way of pronouncing things was present in his voice, still not really gone even after all of the years he had spent training at the castle, Zelda tilted her head to the side, the questioning look in her eyes directed more at the statement itself rather than the sound of his voice.

"What do you mean?" she asked, taking a step closer to him, "My father will be waiting for us, and you saw what happened the last time he heard about my research. He banned it. If he finds out that I have neglected my training again to go and—"

He had not wanted to interrupt her, but there was something about the way a hint of fear had crept into her voice that made Link unable to keep the surprise a secret any longer, and before he had even realised what he was doing or how this was not how he had planned to tell her, he had already blurted out the story. "He will not find out. Before we left, I told him that I have received reports about increased monster activity in the area lately and that we might find ourselves in a situation where we have to go the long way around the Dueling Peaks, perhaps even having to spend the night in an inn. He will not expect us home until tomorrow." with a small bow, Link gestured towards the meadow in front of them. "You can stay here for the rest of the day without him finding out."

Once he finished speaking, finishing what was practically a speech to him, Zelda stayed silent for the longest time, simply staring at him, mouth slightly agape, as she formed the words 'rest of the day' over and over again.

As the seconds passed, and Zelda still did not respond, Link felt the familiar feeling of jittery energy sweeping over him, begging him to just run away and leave what was beginning to look like a mistake behind him. He was faster than Zelda, much faster. Even if he had been wearing the full armour that was required of him during the ceremonies, Link would still have doubted that she would be able to catch up with him if he got a head start, and with how they were standing now, Zelda still clutching the Sheikah Slate and Link being ready to run, he knew that he could reach the forest located just a couple of hundred metres to the west before she would even have begun to run after him. But he did not make an attempt. Not only because he had sworn to protect the princess with his life, but because he could not leave her behind. They had already been through all of that before, Zelda and him walking around each other, trying their best to avoid any situations that might have forced them closer together, and although the embarrassment of realising that he might have misjudged Zelda's wishes for freedom was making him want to go back to Hateno and beg his father to tell the king that, destiny or not, his son would not return to the castle, Link stayed.

"Do you like it?" Link asked, silently thanking the goddesses that had granted him the extraordinary amount of courage that had been the mark of the heroes before him. Without it, he was not sure he would ever have dared to ask.

"Like it?" Zelda repeated, and Link was surprised to see the tears in her eyes as she looked up at him, a stark contrast to the way her lips curled upwards into a smile. "Link, I love it! Thank you!"

Link was not even given the chance to tell her that it was nothing, that he had merely had to turn a little as he told the lie, making sure the king's eyes fell on the hilt of the legendary blade, created to banish evil, rather than Link himself. That alone had been enough to instantly make the king fail to see how Link's hands had shaken like leaves, fail to hear how his voice cracked several times, the Hateno-accent becoming more pronounced as he nodded towards the window of the throne room like that proved his point about the dangers he claimed might pose a threat to the princess' life if the king did not allow them to rest for the night. A heartbeat later, Zelda had already planted a kiss on his check, shaking slightly as she begun to talk about all of the flowers and herbs she had wanted to examine a bit more closely that she would now be able to visit again.

"Just think about it," Zelda said, already tapping at the screen of the Sheikah Slate to show him her notes. As she continued to explain the complicated process of everything she had to do to make sure she had every bit of information she could possibly need, Link found himself nodding along. Even though he barely understood half of what she was saying, and could only observe that the drawings she had made of the different plants were beautiful and so true to the real thing that it felt a bit like he should be able to reach out and touch the soft petals of the Silent Princess, Link could still enjoy the way Zelda's enthusiasm and joy seeped into her voice.

Halfway through her explanation about the powers of the Armoranth, Zelda interrupted herself, bringing the Sheikah Slate closer to her chest. "Thank you. Really. I know what you must have risked to be able to give me this, and although I know I should tell you not to do such a thing for me, I would be lying if I tried to claim that this," waving slightly towards him and then at the field, Zelda swallowed, blinking rapidly as the tears once more made her eyes shiny, "is not everything I could have wished for for my birthday and then more. Thank you."

It was strange. If someone had tried to tell Link just a few months ago that this would be a situation he would ever find himself in, standing with the princess of Hyrule in the middle of a field, having just lied to the king in an attempt to give her a chance to rest and enjoy herself, he would have told them that they must have been dreaming. It was barely more than a couple of months since they had even begun to truly talk with one another rather than continuing the way they had done before, with him trying his best not to say anything around Zelda and her barely bothering to say anything to him as well, and yet, it felt like they had already known each other for years. He supposed his father would have told him that it could be the result of some kind of bond, the one the king liked to talk about while looking at the paintings of the previous heroes, always pausing in front of the tapestry that depicted the fight against Ganon that had taken place ten thousand years earlier. But no matter the reason for the changes, Link was relieved that they had reached a point where he did no longer have to doubt every word he said to the princess, his attempts of making her feel better about herself seemingly always ending up making everything worse as she took it as an insult rather than an attempt to comfort her.

Maybe it was the same kind of thoughts that had made Zelda fall silent, for as she spoke once more, she reached out to take his hand. "Thank you. I know that I might not have been—no, I know that I _have_ been absolutely horrible towards you—"

"Please, I know why you acted that way. There is nothing that you have to apologise for. Not anymore."

Zelda's voice was as soft as her thump brushing over his knuckles when she smiled at him. "Thank you."

He was grateful for how she did not wait, did not demand an answer from him, for he was not sure the words would have lasted long enough for him to figure out a way to piece together a sentence that could properly convey just how much she meant to him, how he was the one that should thank her for still being there with him despite all of the times he had been mere seconds away from embarrassing them both at the crowded balls the king was so fond of arranging.

The air around them was growing colder each minute, a sure sign that they only had a couple of hours left, maybe not even that, until they would need to find a place to stay for the night, but despite that, Link was still happy to follow along next to Zelda as she made her way back towards the flowery meadow to find a good spot that allowed her to both look at the flowers in front of her from multiple angles and to hold the Sheikah Slate without having to pull up her knees and risk destroying any of the nature around her in the process. As she sat there, surrounded by flowers and with a blissful look in her eyes, her face for once completely devoid of the usual crease between her eyebrows and the slight frown that spoke its own story about the weight of the burden that had been placed on her shoulders, she truly did look like the mortal form of the goddess.

And that was all before she started singing.

It was so quiet at first that she might not have hummed anything at all, and Link did consider the possibility of him simply hearing things when the melodic voice of someone singing reached him. But as he cast a single glance at Zelda, he saw that she was indeed singing to herself. It was not exactly a complicated song, only a couple of different notes strung together to form a simple melody, but right then, it seemed more beautiful to Link than anything he had ever heard before, something that was not only due to how Zelda was able to make even the highest notes sound as easy as breathing. No, as she sang, he could see how the faint smile turned broader, the tension disappearing from her shoulders as she leant forwards a couple of times to get a closer look at the flower she was studying. Almost without thinking about it, he moved closer, being drawn in by the sound of her voice, until he too was sitting on the ground, careful not to disrupt Zelda's work.

There had not been any need for him to try to stay silent, as Zelda seemed completely absorbed in her work. Link pulled his knees up to his chest, for once not thinking about the quickest way he could jump up and be ready to fight in the even they were attacked. Instead, he was content to just look at her.

The moment did not last for long, however, before Zelda placed the Sheikah Slate back down onto the ground and looked up from the flower, raising an eyebrow at him. "Yes?" she asked, the melody being interrupted by the question.

"You were singing," Link said, stating the obvious, "I was wondering what song it was."

To his surprise, the question caused Zelda to look away, redness tinging the tips of her ears. That was not at all the reaction he had expected, and maybe it was the shock that made him react, even though everything in him was telling him to stop and that, despite the way they had grown past that, Zelda was still the princess of Hyrule and that he needed to remember that.

He reached out to touch her shoulder, the gesture light and slow, but even then, Link could still see from the way Zelda almost reached up to touch his hand in response, withdrawing her hand at the last moment, that she had noticed. She did not, however, brush his hand off, and that gave Link the courage to continue. "Did I say anything? Because I promise that no matter what, I did not mean anything—"

"No." Zelda's voice was firm, not leaving any room for him to finish the apology. When she turned back around to look at him, Link saw that the tone of voice was reflected in her eyes as well. "No. It was not something you said. I just—I suppose it is still a bit new, all of this between us, I mean."

"Oh," Link said, and although the topic was moving further away from what he had thought they would discuss, the feeling of not being able to be good enough for her, that he should just stay silent rather than continue to risk embarrassing himself, was gradually turning silent, "I suppose I feel the same way sometimes. That is why it is a good thing we can figure it out together, is it not?"

Zelda's eyes twinkled as she leant in to rest her head against his shoulder. "It is." the Sheikah Slate laid all but forgotten at her side as she tilted her head backwards to look up at him, the certain look on her face that was so rare to see, the special way she could convey a thousand emotions at once, telling Link that she had just gotten an idea before she had even shared it with him. "If you want," Zelda began, reaching up to brush a stray strand of hair away from his face, tucking it behind his ear instead, "I could teach you."

"The song?"

"Yes," Zelda said. Link must not have been as good at hiding the way the suggestion caused his stomach to turn slightly, his mind scarily quick to summon ideas about just how bad an idea it would be for him to attempt to sing, for she was quick to do her best to assure him that it would be fine, lifting her head from his shoulder as she took his hand, "I promise you that it is easy enough. It is a lullaby my mother used to sing to me, and although it sounds fairly complicated, it is not difficult at all."

He wanted to tell her that there was no need for her to try to convince him. No matter the difficulty of what she was suggesting, when she shot him that look, Link knew that he would never have been able to say no. And, for some strange reason, the moment he had accepted that, he found that he did not want to. He wanted to learn the song, he wanted to be able to hum it to himself and think of her when he was stuck with the other guards, unable to sneak away to talk with Zelda.

So he nodded, perhaps in a way that would have been considered a bit too eager if they had been at the castle. But right then, they were far away from the rules and restraints of fate, so he allowed himself that freedom. "I would love it if you could show me."

Zelda practically shone as she repeated the melody a couple of times, making sure to pause to let him follow along. And, just as she had promised, Link found that it was surprisingly easy to remember the tune and the rhythm. He might not be able to hit the same high notes as Zelda, but with the way she laughed up at him before kissing him and curling up next to him, pulling the Sheikah Slate closer to show him the results of her research, Link was able to relax and not worry about any of the mistakes he had surely made. They did not matter. Not right then when they were sitting out there, having finally found a moment where they would be able to leave the castle, destiny, and duties behind.

So Link allowed himself to not think of anything other than Zelda's voice as he leant in closer towards her, humming the melody under his breath once more

He awoke one hundred years later, dizzy, confused, and unable to even remember his own name until a woman's voice that seemed strangely familiar to him even though he could not even remember the name or the face of the person it belonged to called out for him, using his name.

Link. His name was Link.

He tried to form the word, but it all came out in a jumbled mess of sounds, nothing like the elegant voice of the woman.

That was when it dawned on him. He was alone. Completely alone.

The weight of the realisation was almost enough to knock him to the ground, but he continued onwards. He could not allow himself to rest, not after meeting the man who seemed to know him, or at least knew him well enough to know that the idea of being able to save the woman calling his name would be enough to make Link continue onwards, no matter how alone and lost he felt as he stepped into the sun.

But as he sat down later in the evening, having found a cooking pot, Link found himself humming a short melody while watching the ingredients in the pot. He did not know where he had learnt the melody, could not even remember anything other than the first couple of tones, but as he repeated the melody to himself, Link felt a little less alone.


End file.
